ADHD & Neurodivergence

Affirming mental health support for children ages 6+, teens, and adults that makes room for different ways of thinking, feeling, processing and experiencing the world.

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Cherry Tree Counselling offers affirming mental health support for ADHD and neurodivergence for children ages 6+, teens, and adults in Dundas and virtually across Ontario. Our therapists support neurodivergent clients and families with concerns that may include emotional regulation, overwhelm, executive functioning, anxiety, relationships, self-esteem, school or work challenges, burnout and navigating a diagnosis or new understanding of neurodivergence.

Our approach isn't about trying to make someone less neurodivergent. Therapy can provide space to better understand individual strengths, needs and experiences while developing strategies and supports that work for the person rather than continually asking them to fit into approaches that don't.

 

Neurodivergence Can Look Different at Different Ages

 

ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence don't look the same for everyone, and the kinds of support someone needs can change throughout their life.

A child may be struggling with big emotions, transitions, friendships, school expectations or feeling as though they're constantly being corrected. A teenager may be navigating growing academic demands, relationships, identity, independence or feeling different from their peers. An adult may be managing work, relationships, parenting, household responsibilities or years of trying to meet expectations that haven't worked well for their brain.

For some people, neurodivergence has been recognized since childhood. For others, understanding themselves as neurodivergent comes much later.

Therapy begins with the individual rather than assumptions about what ADHD or neurodivergence is supposed to look like.

What Might Bring Someone to Therapy for Support?

There is no single neurodivergent experience. People come to therapy with different strengths, challenges, identities and reasons for wanting support. You might be looking for support with:

  • Emotional regulation and big feelings

  • Executive functioning

  • Starting, organizing or completing tasks

  • Transitions and changes in routine

  • Attention and concentration

  • Time management or time blindness

  • Sensory overwhelm

  • Anxiety or low mood

  • Perfectionism

  • Rejection sensitivity

  • Friendships and social relationships

  • Family relationships

  • School challenges

  • Work demands

  • Parenting while neurodivergent

  • Self-esteem and self-criticism

  • Feeling different or misunderstood

  • Burnout or chronic overwhelm

  • Understanding a recent diagnosis

  • Exploring neurodivergent identity

  • Developing accommodations, boundaries or supports

You don't need to relate to every experience on this list. Support should begin with the person's individual experience, strengths and needs rather than a checklist of what neurodivergence is expected to look like.

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ADHD & Neurodivergent Support for Children and Teens

Children aged 6 and older and teens can access neurodivergent-affirming support at Cherry Tree Counselling. Growing up neurodivergent can mean navigating emotions, relationships, school expectations, transitions and environments that don't always fit the way a young person's brain works.

What may look from the outside like difficulty with behaviour, motivation, organization or attention can be part of a much bigger picture. A child or teen may be working hard to manage emotional or sensory overwhelm, expectations, executive functioning, friendships, anxiety, self-esteem or the experience of feeling different or misunderstood.

Depending on their age, needs, and what brings them to therapy, support may focus on:

  • Understanding and expressing emotions

  • Emotional regulation and coping with overwhelm

  • Anxiety and worries

  • Executive functioning and everyday challenges

  • Navigating transitions and changes in routine

  • Confidence and self-esteem

  • Friendships and social experiences

  • School-related stress and expectations

  • Family relationships and communication

  • Understanding ADHD or neurodivergence in an affirming way

  • Identifying strategies, accommodations and supports that work for them

For children and teens, support may also involve parents or caregivers when appropriate. This can help families better understand the young person's experiences and needs, strengthen communication, and explore ways of supporting them at home and in everyday life.

As children move into adolescence, therapy can also provide a space of their own to explore growing independence, identity, relationships and what being neurodivergent means to them. The goal isn't to teach a young person to hide or suppress the ways they're different, but to help them better understand themselves and develop ways of navigating the world that support their wellbeing.

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ADHD in Women & Late Diagnosis

For some women, recognizing ADHD or neurodivergence doesn't happen until adulthood.

 

Years of compensating, masking, working harder to stay organized or being seen primarily through concerns such as anxiety, depression, perfectionism or overwhelm can make neurodivergence less obvious. A woman may have done well academically or professionally while privately struggling with organization, attention, emotional regulation, exhaustion or the amount of effort required to keep everything together.

Research has found that ADHD in women has historically been under-recognized and that women are often diagnosed later than men. Women's experiences may also be interpreted through anxiety, depression or other mental health concerns before ADHD is recognized.

Receiving a diagnosis or beginning to understand yourself as neurodivergent later in life can bring many different reactions. There may be relief and validation alongside grief, anger or questions about how earlier experiences might have been different if your needs had been understood.

Therapy can provide space to make sense of that experience without reducing everything about you to a diagnosis.

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Your Support Team

  • Heather Rivlin

    REGISTERED SOCIAL WORKER

    Support for Adults

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  • Victoria Kim

    RP (QUALIFYING)

    Support for Youth 15+ and Adults

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  • Rebecca Harper

    REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST

    Support for Children 6+, Teens, and Adults

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  • Selina Buesink

    REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST

    Support for Adults

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  • Jennifer Hines

    REGISTERED NURSE PSYCHOTHERAPIST

    Support for Youth 12+ and Adults

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  • Kate McDermott

    REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST

    Support for Adults

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  • Beth Lewis

    REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST

    Support for Adults

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  • Emily Muizelaar

    REGISTERED SOCIAL WORKER

    Support for Adults

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Frequently Asked Questions

Have more questions?

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  • No. You may already have a diagnosis, be exploring whether ADHD helps explain some of your experiences, or simply recognize that neurodivergent-friendly strategies and approaches work better for you. Your therapist can discuss what is within their professional scope and whether a formal assessment or other support may be appropriate.

  • ADHD assessment and diagnosis are different from psychotherapy. Whether a particular professional can assess or diagnose ADHD depends on their profession, training and scope of practice. Cherry Tree's therapist profiles describe the services individual clinicians provide, and our team can help clarify what is available.

  • ADHD in women has historically been under-recognized. Some women experience less externally visible symptoms, develop compensatory strategies or first seek help for concerns such as anxiety or depression. Research has found that women are often diagnosed later and that greater awareness of female ADHD presentations is needed.

  • Emotional regulation difficulties are reported by many adults with ADHD, although everyone's experience is different. Therapy can provide space to understand emotional patterns, identify triggers and develop individualized strategies for navigating difficult emotions.

  • Some women report changes in ADHD-related experiences during hormonal transitions such as perimenopause. Emerging research suggests hormones may play a role, but this remains an evolving area of study and more research is needed.

  • Yes. Cherry Tree Counselling offers virtual therapy across Ontario, although individual therapists have different areas of training and practice. Review our therapist profiles to identify clinicians who specifically support ADHD and neurodivergence.

Find Support That Works With You

Understanding yourself differently can change the questions you ask. Instead of wondering why something that seems easy for everyone else feels so difficult, therapy can help you explore what you need, what works for you and what you may have been carrying for a long time.

Cherry Tree Counselling offers neurodivergent-affirming support in Dundas and virtually across Ontario. Explore our therapists or reach out to our team for help finding someone whose experience and approach align with what you're looking for.

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